Fans cheer during the second quarter of a game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Kyle Field. / Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

by Duane Rankin, USA TODAY Sports

by Duane Rankin, USA TODAY Sports

Florida coach Will Muschamp doesn't think Alabama will have any problems Saturday playing in Texas A&M's Kyle Field.

"They'll be fine," said Muschamp, who was an assistant at Texas when A&M was in the Big 12. Muschamp led Florida to a 20-17 win there in A&M's 2012 opener. "They'll do like we do. They've probably been (pumping) crowd noise (in practice) and all that kind of stuff. They'll be prepared. I know College Station, they've have a great environment, but (Alabama has) been in those situations before."

Those at A&M say Kyle Field is unlike any other, and the top-ranked Crimson Tide (1-0) will find out why Saturday. This is Alabama's first trip to Kyle Field since A&M joined the SEC in 2012.

"I've been in both of those locker rooms at Kyle Field," Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said. "It's one of the best places to play in the country if you're the home team and one of the hardest places to play or coach if you're the visiting team. For a lot of people who've never been here, they will be surprised by the atmosphere and what 'The 12th Man' brings to the table."

ESPN will begin broadcasting from College Station today in anticipation for a showdown in a stadium ideal to host the biggest game in college football this season. A crowd of nearly 88,000 is expected to overflow the 82,000-seat capacity venue and give the Tide as hard a time as it can.

"In terms of the loudness, it is up there (with other SEC stadiums), maybe even louder than Tiger Stadium down in Baton Rouge," said Texas A&M senior associate athletic director Jason Cook, a Mississippi State graduate who says he's been to every SEC stadium. "It is extremely loud."

In 2011, Texas A&M was picked first by Sports Illustrated for game-day atmosphere in college football.

"You can see when we play here that it is a special place," said LSU coach Les Miles after the Tigers' 24-19 win at A&M last year. "It's loud and it's an advantage for the home team. Texas A&M definitely has an SEC environment already."

To further enhance the environment, Texas A&M is spending $450 million to renovate the stadium. The largest collegiate stadium project ever is scheduled for completion in 2015. When Alabama returns to College Station, Texas A&M will have the largest stadium in the SEC with a seat capacity for 102,500.

"If you look at it, 20 million people are within a three-hour drive of College Station," Cook said. "We have 400,000 graduates around the world. Half of those have graduated since 1999. So you look at the demographics, the demographics certainly support an additional capacity."

The aura of Kyle Field centers around "The 12th Man," which is made up of 31,000 students who gather in the largest student section in the country on the east side of the stadium.

"They stand and they yell the entire game," Cook said. "It is a very loud, very intimidating environment to be in."

Texas A&M has "The 12 Man" term trademarked.

"We consider ourselves the original '12th Man,' " Sumlin said. "There's a reason why, and I think people will find that out Saturday."

The "12th Man" tradition took root in 1922 when E. King Gill, a student, was pulled from the stands to play because the Aggies were down to 11 players due to injuries in a game against Centre College.

Gill didn't play, but students now stand the entire game in honor of him and to symbolize they're ready to play if needed.

"The tradition there is the first thing," said Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, who is 3-2 against Texas A&M in games at Kyle Field dating back to when the Aggies and Tigers were in the Big 12. Missouri's last three games against Texas A&M have been in College Station.

Pinkel even coached against A&M in a 1987 game at Kyle Field as an assistant at Washington under Don James. Texas A&M beat the No. 10 Huskies, 29-12.

"All the pageantry is just very unique," Pinkel added. "That adds to it being a great place to play."

The last time Alabama played at Kyle Field in 1988, Tide coach Nick Saban was a secondary coach in the NFL with the then Houston Oilers and fifth-year quarterback AJ McCarron wasn't even born yet.

So it's understandable why McCarron doesn't seem overwhelmed about playing at Kyle Field.

"It's going to be a fun experience," McCarron said. "Their whole "12th Man" and everything, that's going to be a very cool experience for myself. Hopefully, it will be a good experience, though."

Plus, it's not like Alabama has any recent setbacks on the road.

Alabama has won nine straight non-neutral road games that include a 21-17 classic at LSU last season. This recent romp of road victories includes wins at Penn State, Florida and rival Auburn.

Still, Saban anticipates Kyle Field being a difficult place to play Saturday. Texas A&M is 1-4 in home games against top-ranked teams, but won its last one - 30-26 in 2002 against No. 1 Oklahoma.

"It will take a special discipline and focus on our players' part to be able to manage the external circumstances, whether it's crowd noise or whatever it might be," he said. "That's very challenging."

Ironically, Alabama's last three losses have been at home to Auburn (2010), LSU (2011) and Texas A&M last year, but Saban said he'd rather play at Bryant-Denny Stadium than anywhere else.

"I'm still not looking forward to playing tough SEC places on the road," Saban said.

Kyle Field is now one of those tough SEC places. Alabama will find out why Saturday.

Rankin writes for The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, a Gannett property.